Election Time, Philippines

Despite constitutional separation of church and state, next week’s presidential election is keeping many Filipino church leaders very busy. One prominent TV evangelist, Brother Eddie Villanueva of the Jesus is Lord church, is even a candidate, though running a distant fifth place. It is hoped that the closely watched election, which will be recorded by voting machines for the first time, will be the first without controversy in the country. 90% of Filipinos are Christian, 80% are Catholic. The church and other Christian leaders are working to influence political positions by inviting candidates to church-sponsored events and chastising them for not attending or for not adhering to doctrinal positions, particularly on birth control.